How will its growing membership react to this liaison – will members support this partnership or will members think the assoc should be neutral in its activities ? Time will tell – See Release Below.

Association of Virtual Worlds Partners with Altadyn and Trimensions Metaverse Development to Construct Virtual World Headquarter

Jacksonville, FL (PRWEB) March 20, 2008 — The new Association of Virtual Worlds is proud to announce its partnership with Altadyn, developer of the 3Dxplorer 3Dweb authoring tool and player, and Trimensions Metaverse Development, a noted virtual worlds developer and designer, to construct a 3D virtual world headquarters and facility for use by its members.

“With its unique 3Dxplorer technology, Altadyn is positioned to deliver a virtual world experience to benefit even those who have never before explored virtual worlds. Trimensions Metaverse Development develops imaginative 3D spaces that are also functional – a necessary combination. We believe that this team will create a place and experience that our members will enjoy, regardless of whether they are industry insiders or newcomers to virtual worlds,” says Dave Elchoness, Executive Director.

One response to “Virtual Worlds Assoc plans partnering with a Virtual World Creator – itsReal”

This is one that I have struggled with quite a bit i.e. whether the Association’s development of a virtual environment for its members suggests a bias or, as you say, that the Association is not “neutral in its activities.”

This is where I come out: An Association striving to further the medium of virtual worlds needs (i) to use the medium itself as an important part of its activities and (ii) to provide a way for outsiders to experience why it is that virtual worlds are so important. Without its own virtual environment, the Association could not easily hold regular events, interact with its members, or provide a place for its members (who come from every sort of virtual environment out there) to socialize and do business with one another. Similarly, one of the most important missions of the Association is outreach. Without its own environment, how could the Association engage in the outreach needed to demonstrate that virtual worlds are an extraordinary medium?

So, we conclude that the Association needs a virtual environment and one of its own, because it could not be an Association for all worlds if its headquarters were based in one of them.

Now, here’s why we chose Altadyn. What Altadyn does is provide a toolset for the development of 3D webpages (3Dxplorer). I’m not a tech expert, but I know enough to understand that this is a very different kind of virtual ‘world’ than many of the ones we all know and love. With the 3D webpage, the Association can both offer its members a place to meet with each other, and for industry outsiders, who today only know “surfing the web,” an accessible experience at the click of a link i.e. the current paradigm.

In short, we chose to offer an “entry point” or a “gateway” on the theory that once people experience immersion in 3D on-line — presence, co-presence, sitting next to a colleague 10,000 miles away as if she were “really there”, they will be looking for more. And when they do, they will seek out the worlds that have joined the Association.

Whether you agree or disagree with my analysis, you can be sure that this was thought out long and hard.